IGM Forum Finds – Unfinished: An Artist’s Lament

Today’s Forum Find comes to us from Dust Scratch Games, a one-man studio based in Canada. Unfinished: An Artist’s Lament is an adventure/platforming game about Sketch, a figure drawing that wants nothing more than to become something more than just…well, a sketch. To that end, Sketch begins to explore an environment filled with balled-up paper thrown away by the artist who created Sketch in the first place, trying to reach him in an effort to make his will known. The game depicts a world where the frustration an artist feels when they’re unable to complete what they see in their head transfers to those drawings, creating empathy with nothing more than a few lines in motion.

Throughout Sketch’s adventure, there will be pieces of paper that have visible drawings on them. Sketch stands next to these drawings, and absorbs the ability depicted. A pair of boots with springs allows him to reach higher platforms, another image allows Sketch to run, visualized through the animated circles that are used so often in cartoons to show speed. A propeller beanie gives Sketch the gift of flight. Combinations of different patterns are possible, depending on the ability, and they’re all used to fulfill the end goal of the Pinocchio-like wish to be real. While Unfinished: An Artist’s Lament is still a work in progress, Dust Scratch Games has plans for updates and additional features, which will add depth and more character to the world that’s been created.

Follow along with Unfinished: An Artist’s Lament on Dust Scratch Games’s website, or follow them on Twitter. If you want to see the game on Steam, voting is currently underway via Greenlight. As always, be sure to check out the original forum post to leave feedback!

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Bonnie is a streamer, gamer, and word nerd who enjoys puzzle and horror games, and getting entirely too excited about both genres. She's been writing professionally for 18 years, but IGM is her first foray into gaming news. Bonnie's life outside of IGM involves massive amounts of hair dye, sewing, and being a cat lady. Feel free to contact her on Twitter!